The 12th International Conference on Environmental ... - Events
The 12th International Conference on Environmental ... - Events
The 12th International Conference on Environmental ... - Events
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Sessi<strong>on</strong> 26 Abstracts<br />
• <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> benefits to Sellafield Ltd from working with NMP partner companies; How the ability to draw <strong>on</strong> skills and technical<br />
knowledge from other world leading companies will help meet the challenges faced by the site<br />
• <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> benefits of the reorganisati<strong>on</strong> for the company; How the initial change programme has impacted <strong>on</strong> operati<strong>on</strong>al effectiveness<br />
• <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> advantages of applying a People, Partnering and Performance approach; How clearly defined expectati<strong>on</strong>s form the<br />
basis for NMPs management strategy<br />
• Opportunities for the supply chain; how the emphasis <strong>on</strong> Partnership will maximise working opportunities for the supply<br />
chain, and how it will be made easier to work with Sellafield<br />
• Looking forward to the future; how Sellafield Ltd will be positi<strong>on</strong>ed to seize whatever opportunities may arise from future<br />
decisi<strong>on</strong>s by the UK government about potential new nuclear missi<strong>on</strong>s<br />
2) EMBEDDING NUCLEAR, ENVIRONMENTAL AND SAFETY MEASURES FROM<br />
DESIGN THROUGH TO DECOMMISSIONING - 16212<br />
Jack Williams<strong>on</strong>, Sellafield Ltd, Seascale (UK)<br />
A key part of the UK nuclear industry for more than five decades, Sellafield represents the most challenging nuclear site management<br />
programme in the world<br />
Originally, established during the early 1940s to home Royal Ordnance factories producing explosives for World War II, today<br />
Sellafield Ltd manages and operates the West Cumbrian site <strong>on</strong> behalf of its owners, the Nuclear Decommissi<strong>on</strong>ing Authority.<br />
Activities centre <strong>on</strong> remediati<strong>on</strong>, decommissi<strong>on</strong>ing, accelerated hazard reducti<strong>on</strong> and clean-up of the historic legacy, however the<br />
site is also home to a number of commercially operated plants, including the Thorp and Magnox reprocessing plants, the Sellafield<br />
Mixed Oxide Fuel manufacturing plant and a range of waste management and effluent treatment facilities<br />
Sellafield Ltds Nuclear Decommissi<strong>on</strong>ing and Major Project Group is resp<strong>on</strong>sible for managing all of the current and future<br />
decommissi<strong>on</strong>ing work and major build projects <strong>on</strong> the site, a programme valued at approximately £46 billi<strong>on</strong><br />
Nuclear Safety is the overriding priority for the group, and inspiring c<strong>on</strong>fidence in new nuclear facilities is seen as playing an<br />
important role in any future nuclear renaissance.<br />
Looking at both radiological and c<strong>on</strong>venti<strong>on</strong>al safety, this paper will discuss the importance of embedding safety into all phases<br />
of the nuclear new build programme; Design, C<strong>on</strong>structi<strong>on</strong>, Commissi<strong>on</strong>ing and Decommissi<strong>on</strong>ing. It will also look at how<br />
adopting a partnership approach between all parties involved in the build process can not <strong>on</strong>ly maximise c<strong>on</strong>venti<strong>on</strong>al safety and<br />
realise the design intent but also minimise waste when the plant is eventually decommissi<strong>on</strong>ed.<br />
3) OPTIMISING THE UK WASTE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME USING INVENTORY MODELING - 16394<br />
Mervin McMinn, NDA(USA)<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> UK updates the Nati<strong>on</strong>al Inventory of radioactive waste every three years. <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> latest iterati<strong>on</strong>, based <strong>on</strong> a stock date of<br />
April 2007, was published in May 2008. At that time, there were approximately 1,300 identified waste streams representing 290,000<br />
m3 of L/ILW already in stock, with an additi<strong>on</strong>al 3,100,000 m3 forecast future lifetime arisings. Under the current baseline Strategy,<br />
around 90% of the arisings are destined for a low level waste repository (LLWR) with the remaining 380,000 m3 destined for<br />
a geological disposal facility (GDF).<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> data in the Nati<strong>on</strong>al Inventory is used to support and underpin the L/ILW Strategic Design Authorities (SDA) in developing<br />
alternative waste management Strategic Opti<strong>on</strong>s. One significant business driver is to identify opportunities for reducing the<br />
volume of waste for geological disposal, Inventory modelling quantifies the benefits that would be obtained by adopting alternative<br />
waste treatment soluti<strong>on</strong>s.<br />
This paper sets out the current scope of the UK Nati<strong>on</strong>al Inventory and the process and tools employed to compile a validated<br />
dataset. Strengths and weaknesses of the current approach will be highlighted. Areas targeted for improvement will be outlined,<br />
including reducing the uncertainty in the data and improving the lead-time for publishing an approved report. <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> future scope and<br />
expected benefits will be described, in particular proactive modelling of the value of alternative waste management opti<strong>on</strong>s and a<br />
more data-driven approach to developing an optimised Nati<strong>on</strong>al Integrated Waste Strategy. In closing, the paper will illustrate the<br />
modelled impact of strategic opti<strong>on</strong>s that are being c<strong>on</strong>sidered for further development.<br />
4) INNOVATIVE HIGHLY SELECTIVE REMOVAL OF CESIUM AND STRONTIUM UTILIZING A NEWLY<br />
DEVELOPED CLASS OF INORGANIC ION SPECIFIC MEDIA - 16221<br />
Mark Dent<strong>on</strong>, Kuri<strong>on</strong>, Inc., (USA) Dr. Mercouri Kanatzidis, Northwestern University (NWU) (USA)<br />
Highly selective removal of Cesium and Str<strong>on</strong>tium is critical for waste treatment and envir<strong>on</strong>mental remediati<strong>on</strong>. Cesium-137<br />
is a beta-gamma emitter and Str<strong>on</strong>tium-90 is a beta emitter with respective half-lives of 30 and 29 years. Both elements are present<br />
at many nuclear sites. Cesium and Str<strong>on</strong>tium can be found in wastewaters at Washingt<strong>on</strong> State’s Hanford Site, as well as in<br />
wastestreams of many Magnox reactor sites. Cesium and Str<strong>on</strong>tium are found in the Reactor Coolant System of light water reactors<br />
at nuclear power plants. Both elements are also found in spent nuclear fuel and in high-level waste (HLW) at DOE sites. Cesium<br />
and Str<strong>on</strong>tium are further major c<strong>on</strong>tributors to the activity and the heat load. <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g>refore, technologies to extract Cesium and Str<strong>on</strong>tium<br />
are critical for envir<strong>on</strong>mental remediati<strong>on</strong> waste treatment and dose minimizati<strong>on</strong>.<br />
Radi<strong>on</strong>uclides such as Cesium-137 and Str<strong>on</strong>tium-90 are key drivers of liquid waste classificati<strong>on</strong> at light water reactors and<br />
within the DOE tank farm complexes. <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> treatment, storage, and disposal of these wastes represents a major cost for nuclear power<br />
plant operators, and comprises <strong>on</strong>e of the most challenging technology-driven projects for the DOE Envir<strong>on</strong>mental Management<br />
(EM) program.<br />
An alternative to these issues of organic i<strong>on</strong>-exchangers is emerging. Inorganic i<strong>on</strong>-exchangers offer a superior chemical, thermal<br />
and radiati<strong>on</strong> stability which is simply not achievable with organic compounds. <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g>y can be used to remove both Cesium as<br />
well as Str<strong>on</strong>tium with a high level of selectivity under a broad pH range. Inorganic i<strong>on</strong>-exchangers can operate at acidic pH where<br />
prot<strong>on</strong>s inhibit i<strong>on</strong> exchange in alternative technologies such as CST. <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g>y can also be used at high pH which is typically found in<br />
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